bluespanner Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 I've owned my Disco since saturday, and I'll share my findings thus far. I picked it up, and went straight to Shell and filled the LPG tanks from empty 60 litres(£33) I have since covered 140 miles and the LPG and have just run out of gas. Most of my driving has been on the 5 mile through town commute to work, which I expect will hammer fuel consumption. By my calculations, thats about 11mpg, or 24 pence per mile. Bare in mind that I'm 20 and have never owned a V8 before, so lets just say I have been enjoying it, so It should improve a little in time. What sort of fuel economy should I be expecting? I was hoping for about 15... And how do my running costs compare to 300tdi? Roland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silverbake Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 Hi Roland I've had my V8/LPG for just over a year. I also commute daily - a run of about 8 miles - and get almost exactly the same figures as you. I'm not 20 though, and haven't been for a long, long time! What is clear, is that the V8 is a great engine, but NOT suited to slow-moving, stop-and-start traffic. Earlier this year I took mine to Frankfurt, fully loaded (and I mean FULLY) with an adult passenger and a load of gear (we even had to remove the back seats to fit it all in). On the Autobahns, cruising for hours at 70 - 80 mph we managed a record of about 17mpg. With the price of Autogas in Germany, that was the equivalent of almost 40mpg on petrol. Great. If you want to go to Germany! I've tried to reduce consumption by removing the roofrack, but it made no difference. And neither does the amount of weight I'm carrying (see above). Bottom line? It's Bl**dy thirst, great fun, and with the Induction filter that came with the gas conversion, when you DO floor the accelerator, it makes the most wonderful noise! I've pondered changing to a 300TDi, but I love the set-up of this one: 2in lift with polybushes and Old Man Emu shocks. The ride, both on and off-road is excellent. Whoever did it knew what he was doing and I just can't bear to part with it. V8? Enjoy! Silverbake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saltyoldseadog Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 I have had two V8 Range Rovers but neither had the LPG conversion - hadn't been invented at the time! The first one never quite managed 11 mpg but the second did almost 20 and, as another correspondent has said, it doesn't seem to make much difference to fuel consumption if you wear a roof rack or pull a trailer or even a caravan. My father's V8 Rover also did 19 mpg regardless. Keep tuning! And good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeSheds Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 Auto or manual? No commuting I am afraid, but I recently got 17.5 cruising at 70ish and was pleased with that so I would think your figure would be ok for town work in a manual and good for an auto Aint the V8 great though? - I have a slightly non-standard exhaust and sometimes I just can't resist giving it some Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluespanner Posted September 16, 2009 Author Share Posted September 16, 2009 I agree with the slow moving traffic point, my commute seems to coincide with the dreaded school run, which gives an average speed of about 10mph! And having done a load more maths, I reckon my V8 on gas is only 3p per mile more to run than a 300Tdi at 25mpg. And that 3p is well worth the extra 90 ponies and that gorgeous soundtrack! Roland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pw8757 Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 I've owned my Disco since saturday, and I'll share my findings thus far. I picked it up, and went straight to Shell and filled the LPG tanks from empty 60 litres(£33) I have since covered 140 miles and the LPG and have just run out of gas. Most of my driving has been on the 5 mile through town commute to work, which I expect will hammer fuel consumption. By my calculations, thats about 11mpg, or 24 pence per mile. Bare in mind that I'm 20 and have never owned a V8 before, so lets just say I have been enjoying it, so It should improve a little in time. What sort of fuel economy should I be expecting? I was hoping for about 15... And how do my running costs compare to 300tdi? Roland Roland - welcome to the V8 world!! If you have 60 litre tanks, they will run out after about 47 litres. Some gas is always retained in the tanks for a reason that wiser people than me know and which is something to do with the pressure. Similarly, if you have 90 liter tank, about 60 litres will be the lot. I have 2x30 litre tanks and will normally refuel after about 140 (ish) miles, getting my 47 litres in the fill. I generally get an all-round 15 or so miles to the gallon, (between 2.8 and 3.2 to the litre) so you are a little below optimum at 11 mpg. Your fuel consumption will improve with clean, good quality ignition parts, running without unnecessarily carrying 70 litres of petrol around and by advancing the ignition timing to about 7 degrees before TDC at idle. (LPG burns slower than petrol, so the optimum power at TDC is obtained by starting the ignition of the fuel earlier). Keep your tyres at the right pressure as well. The best way to keep your consumption down is the good old fashioned advice of gentle on the throttle, gentle on the gears, gentle on the brakes. But hey! Its a V8! You're 20! You just got it! I'm 54 and still like to move fast! With best wishes, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluespanner Posted September 16, 2009 Author Share Posted September 16, 2009 Pw8757 I got 60 litres to go in from empty, so I'm assuming I have 80 litre tanks? Good tip about the timing, I'll have a look what it is at work tomorrow. Does one adjust the timing with the vac advance on or disconnected? I think the rest of the ignition system is in good nick, I will give it a good going over. The engine has only done 30,000 miles. Roland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pw8757 Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 I adjust mine with it all connected, the vacuum only affects it when the throttle is open. At higher speeds the vacuum and the springs/weight system in the distributor increase the advance automatically, so it is at 30 degrees plus before TDC at times. Don't forget this is for running on LPG, so the petrol running will be adversely affected by increasing the advance. However, I am of the opinion (which others may not share) that you set it up to run on the preferred fuel. When garages fit/service LPG, they will often use a "compromise" set up, which is OK but not great on either. I frequently meet people who keep a full tank of petrol all the time as well "just in case". However, most parts of the country have decent LPG filling stations now, hence I only carry about 30 miles worth of petrol. This saves loads of weight! When you fill with LPG, set the trip, let it (nearly) run out and then you know how many miles you will get on your tanks. Just use that as a guide Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluespanner Posted September 23, 2009 Author Share Posted September 23, 2009 Update: Just averaged nearrrllllyyy 14mpg on the last tank of gas. Happy days! Roland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pw8757 Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 I'm generally good for 2.8 miles per litre - times 5.5 that's 15.4 per gallon.......................(I BS you not!!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocky Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Hi,I have a disco 1 300tdi and get about 31 - 33 mpg and that is driving to work (36 miles round trip) on country lanes at about 60mph. It is reasonably quick to accelerate over 50 but not so much fun as a 3.9 V8. Regards rocky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samd35 Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 I'm generally good for 2.8 miles per litre - times 5.5 that's 15.4 per gallon.......................(I BS you not!!) you mean 12.7 per gallon as uk gallon is 4.55 litres Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluespanner Posted September 24, 2009 Author Share Posted September 24, 2009 Ha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pw8757 Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 Oh Bu**er!! (And what's worse, I've been calculating like that for years!) I suppose I should (reluctantly) thank Sam for the info................ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweety Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 Could I ask what MPG peeps get petrol wise as i'm looking at poss getting a V8 as there are alot more on the market being auto boxed which I need very badly due to health probs. I will be taking things a bit slower if I do get a nice big V instead of flooring it all the time Sorry to high jack the thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pw8757 Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 Well I used to get about fifteen until I started doing the maths properly!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiman Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 well i get around 125 to 2 36litre sill tanks but that may improve a bit as just had a new vaporiser fitted and as I use it mainly for greenlaning got 265/75/16 mud tyres on it and its an auto so dragging extra weight of tyres takes 47 litres to fill which cost me £25 at present only thing long term need to get tanks relocated to boot to give me a bit more ground clearance cheers Lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterdon Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 I have a 1995 3.9V8ES with LPG and have just managed, without particularly trying, 200 miles from 11 gallons of gas. Obviously this doesn't include the petrol used to start and some miles in the morning going to the local shop when the gas doesn't kick in. Most of the trips are commuting in local traffic. I'm happy with this, equivalent to 25+ per gallon at petrol prices and I'm driving a V8!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluespanner Posted September 26, 2009 Author Share Posted September 26, 2009 How on earth do you get 200 miles from 50 litres of gas when I struggle to see 160?! Roland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterdon Posted September 27, 2009 Share Posted September 27, 2009 How on earth do you get 200 miles from 50 litres of gas when I struggle to see 160?! Roland I haven't used the loud pedal very much, no opportunity! I must admit to being pleasantly surprised myself. I have only had the Disco for a month and I was trying to find out how far I could go on a full tank of gas so I'd know when to fill up in future. As there aren't many gas stations round here I refilled before the gas ran out and could only get 50 litres in the tank at 202 miles on the clock. Before the Disco I had a 4.0L Jeep Cherokee and was getting something similar. I expected this truck to be slightly worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian_s Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 i've been running my 3.9 v8 on gas for just over a week now, and on a run down the motorway from derby to kent i got 160 miles out of 45 litres, which makes it about 16mpg, which i was quite happy with. on my commute to work which is mainly between 40 and 70 mph, i am only getting 130 miles out of a tank, but i have been abusing the loud peddle a bit! i've not fiddled with the timing yet, might mess around with that at lunchtime today. i'd completely forgotten about doing that! i'm also going to invest in a new set of leads and plugs at some point. the leads look like they are the originals so are probably past their best! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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